So, what’s been happening?
Well, I certainly didn’t plan to take a year (or more) off from this feature. As anyone still even reading the Avocado? Anyway, this guy is still trying to sell this t-shirt.
And then there’s this guy trying to sell the entire collection for three grand, which works out to $19.61 per disc.
Well, anyway. Without further delay, let’s get into it, shall we?
Old Music Monthly #035: July 1996
The Cover
The Letters
Once again, a longwinded blowhard who thinks everything that’s popular automatically sucks. Have we outgrown that idea that anything that’s in the mainstream must be terrible?
Tours We’d Like To See
Quick Fix
While Wesley Willis mostly has one mode (musically, couldn’t speak for his art), but it’s pretty cool that he pretty much just willed his career into existence.
Weird Record of the Month
No “Weird Record” this month, but here’s a nifty little thing about the pre-gap before the first track on a CD. Thanks to the power of the internet, I was able to get the Nick Cave & The Dirty Three track, which is one of the best on the album.
Mix Tape!
Fire up your fax machines! I hope never have to stand before Judge Jessup, because he put the only song from Last Splash I hate on this mix.
51 Cool Things For Summer
This is the summer version of their Holiday Guide from 6 months or so ago. As you might guess, most of it is stupid (even more stupid than these), but I’m intrigued by these Recordio discs.
Best New Music
Reviews
The Genres
Top 75
I owned 8, slim pickings, how many did (do) you own?
Mixed-Media / Multi-Media
Wendall and Inc. sounds fascinating, and it seems to have never existed per the Internet.
I really just love the Netscape frames on these. I can also remember being hunched over much more complicated web addresses than this, painstakingly trying to type them in.
Localzine
Bill Mooney and Barbara Herring walk us through Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They run some sort of art collective or gallery called Lump, as well as music merch organization Kung Fu Nation.
Without further delay, the CD:
Hayden – Hardly
(Paul) Hayden (Desser) got his start by submitting a song to a radio contest where he played guitar and he enlisted two friends to sing (including Noah Mintz from CMJ alums hHead). He didn’t win, but he did get bit by the music bug and self-released a cassette in 1994, and then his first official full length in 1995, which is where this comes from.
This… isn’t for me. I don’t want to be disparaging, for a change, but it has no place in my heart.
Hayden continued refining his sound, and also becoming more reclusive, occasionally going on tours just to prove to people he isn’t dead. (-)
Rasputina – Transylvanian Concubine
Rasputina is the brain child of New York City vocalist / cellist / songwriter Melora Creager. Creager initially played with indie band Ultra Vivid Scene in the late 80s, before forming Rasputina in 1991. Creager also toured with Nirvana on the European leg of the In Utero tour, in which Kurt Cobain called her personally to offer her the job.
Rasputina’s debut album, Thanks For the Ether, came out on Columbia. I just want to take a second to say, I love that something this weird came out on Columbia. I mean, I know in my cynical heart that they were just throwing things against the wall to see what sticks, but still, this is a left field choice. And they put out their second album also, but that’s as far as they will go on a major. Oh, and they had a remix album (but everyone had a remix album back then). The song is interesting, and Creager seems like a proper weirdo.
Rasputina is still going and the albums are self-released on Creager’s label. There’s been a ton of turnover in the last 30 plus years, with Creager being the only constant. Over the years the band has included Chris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails, Die Warzau, Stabbing Westward), Zoe Keating (Curt Smith, Amanda Palmer), and Norm Block (Plexi, who we will see in #050). (+)
Three Fish – Laced
In 1994, South African band Tribe After Tribe (ugh) opened for Pearl Jam, and unfortunately, singer / guitarist Robbi Robb (Jesus Christ) and Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament became friends. They formed Three Fish with Fastbacks drummer Richard Stuverud.
I liked this song back then, and I’m rescinding it now. I got the self-titled debut from our good friends at Columbia House. Let me tell you, it is the biggest, most pretentious bullshit nonsense you’ve ever heard. The album is such bullshit, it retroactively ruined this song I liked. But if I’m being honest, I was really only into it for the Pearl Jam association.
Three Fish put out a second album in 1999 (and unfortunately, we’re hear from it). Ament of course continued with Pearl Jam, while also occasionally reuniting with Green River and putting out some solo work. Robb continued with Tribe After Tribe. Stuverud ended up joining Tribe After Tribe, and drumming on Ament’s solo work, and also released some solo material (-)
Me’Shell Ndegeocello – Leviticus: F*ggot
Of course we’ve seen Ndegeocello before, back in #007. I remember seeing this video exactly once on MTV, and I don’t remember it, except that it had an intro before it explaining what the song was about, presumably to prevent people from being offended. The video was heavily edited or not aired at all on most stations. I’m using the album version (not the official video), because this is the version the disc uses.
The bass is tight, of course. It does have a lot of mention of that other “F” word. She said, “My use of the word is relevant. It’s to show this person was called that, and his identity was stripped away. That’s all he became, and he paid for it with his life. I guess audiences don’t listen to words anymore.” (+)
Definition Of Sound – Mama’s Not Coming Home
This London group was ostensibly a dance band, but this is not at all what I think of when I think dance music. This is best for a six-minute nap. The members went on to be producers and A&R people, but no one cares. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ (-)
Everything But The Girl – Wrong
London’s Everything But the Girl totally leaned into drum and bass after their success of the remixed version of “Missing” from the previous album. I guess they thought after eight albums of lite jazz, that taste of success was enough for hard turn into another genre. The only other group I can think of that chased that success from an out of place single is Sugar Ray, and now we have to look at Mark McGrath’s overly operated on face peering out at us from third rate talent shows.
Anyway, it feels like they’re chasing something here that has already eluded them. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever heard, but I don’t think it’s as interesting as their contemporaries.
The duo split for good in 2000… but after dating for 28 years, Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt got married in 2009. While they pitch in on each other’s solo efforts, they don’t think they will ever record or release music as EBTG ever again. I just wonder why they can’t crank out a song over a full English breakfast. (-)
*This was written and tabled before they announced they were reuniting, so have mercy on me.
Love Nut – She Won’t Do Me
Love Nut were from Baltimore, but they don’t exist on YouTube, so there’s no point. Their album was called <i>Bastards of Melody</i>, which is also the name of a band, and they do have stuff on Youtube, so… nice for them I guess. (O)
(The) Posies – Throwaway
Bellingham, Washington’s The Posies formed in 1986 by singers / guitarists Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. They self-released their first album, then signed to Geffen Records. We’re catching up with them on their third and final album for the major. I do like the guitar on this, but as a song I am left unmoved. But it does have over 10k views on YouTube, so what the hell do I know?
The band continued with revolving bass players and drummers. In 2021, Stringfellow had sexual misconduct allegations levelled against him from three women who came forward. Stringfellow denied the allegations, but Auer quit the band after speaking with one of the women, and the rest of the band quit as well. (-)
Ho-Hum – One Out Of Ten
This group was formed by brothers Len and Rod in Little Rock, Arkansas. The group recorded their debut, but shelved it, and re-recorded most of it for their debut on Universal Records. This is pretty ok, less than 300 views on Youtube, it deserves more than that, for sure.
Naturally, the label didn’t promote the album and nothing happened. “That was really why Local failed. It’s because we wanted to sound like ourselves”, Rod said in 2003.
The group split sometime after 2007, and released a glut of albums (live, collections, and a lost album) in 2019. Bassist Rod opened independent record store Anthro-Pop in 2001 (which looks like it may have closed), and in 2006 he became the first independent candidate for governor of Arkansas in over 60 years (he didn’t win). (+)
Sovory – May Not Be
Allen Sovory II (not to be confused with Allen Savory, who is a hollistic… something or other) here has put out a debut album as Sovory. Sovory worked in the background and here gets his big break on Universal Music Group.
Let’s be honest, he has a very nice voice, but what’s he bringing to the table here? In 1996, you have a greater chance of being killed in an avalanche of CDs that sound just like this than being struck by lightning.
Sovory didn’t make it, obviously, but he returned to working as a session musician and background vocalist working with Howard Jones and … Baha Men. (-)
Patty Griffin – Moses
1996 also saw the debut album from Americana singer Patty Griffin. This is really far out of my wheelhouse, is she a big deal in that scene? I’m going to guess she is, since she has a Grammy and a specific Americana Music award, and her songs have been covered by lots of folks.
This comes from her debut album, Living With Ghosts, on A&M. There’s nothing wrong with it, but I’m never going to listen to it again.
She put out two albums on A&M, before moving over to Dave Matthews’ ATO label (which makes her briefly label mates with Primus, which is funny), and then onto Thirty Tigers. She also was a touring member of Robert Plant’s Band of Joy from 2010 to 2014. (-)
Dig – Who’s [sic] Side You On
We talked about Dig way back in #005. Dig is a band that was pretty good (is? They’re back together as of 2016), but I don’t know that they ever reach “great”. Anyway, I really like this song… I’ve had 26 years to listen to it. What I like about it is the vocal harmony on the word “Operator”.
Also, I’ve noticed lots of times that the CMJ disc has little track title mistakes like this. (+)
(The) Figgs – Blame It All Senseless
We last talked about The Figgs back in installment #011. I didn’t save this one back in the day, but I have to give it credit. It’s really this flying by the seat or your pants song. (+)
Sincola – One Hit Wonder
Austin’s Sincola was part of installment #019. Now, we’re catching up with them on their second and final album, Crash Landing In Teen Heaven. This actually pretty good, a nice up tempo number… typical 90’s rock. But they weren’t made to last, and broke up sometime after this. Singer Rebecca Cannon went on to play with Scalitt and The Texas Sapphires. Guitarist Wendel Stivers (Greg Wilson) at some point played with Spoon, but not sure how credible that is. (+)
Drew Neumann – Long Time Iguana
Drew Neamann is a composer and has worked on Beauty and the Beast (1991), Evil Dead II, and a whole slew of Nickelodeon shows, like AAHHHH! Real Monsters and The Wild Thornberrys and many others. This was on a tribute to Chinese violinist Kate Han, but it’s not currently on Youtube, so there’s that. (O)
Michael Rose – Rude Boys (Back In Town)
Jamaican singer Michael Rose started solo, but joined Black Uhuru in 1977 and brought them to international fame when their album Anthem won the first every Best Reggae Album Grammy in 1985. Rose returned to solo work, but rejoined Black Uhuru in 2004 and maintains his solo career concurrently.
Speaking of rude, this song really just sounds like a retread of Inner Circle’s “Bad Boys”. I mean no disrespect, but it’s really derivative. (-)
McAlmont & Butler – Yes
David McAlmont was a part of the group Thieves until 1994, when they split and he went solo. He was then approached by Suede’s Bernard Butler and they formed a duo. Their debut was released in 1996, but by then, they had already split. McAlmont has a good voice, but these 60’s style chamber pop strings are not working for me.
So who of the two is more difficult to work with? They reunited in 2002, split in 2004. Reunited again in 2006, but split that same year. Reunited again in 2014, and are still going (maybe), but I would chalk up the longevity to the pandemic. (-)
Trip 66 – One Desire
Here’s what I can tell you: This five piece hailed from Southampton, Pennsylvania (population 15,152 as of 2010). There you go, that’s it.
I didn’t save this one back in the day, I had no memory of it. But it’s not terrible. I used to not want to post the actual videos because I didn’t want the “look” to influence me, but it’s just more fun with the actual videos. It kind of gives you an idea of what the label was looking at (who they were trying to ape to get sales). In this video, the singer is remarkably put together for what they sound like and I don’t mean that like she’s a sexy object, I just mean that she kind of sounds like she’s a little more unhinged, and kind of dirtier, but she looks like a young professional.
There is next to nothing about this quintet out there. The oldest of the band, guitarist Ryan Bernstein turned 21 just after the album’s release, and singer Maria Nicgorski was only 18. This was a group of kids when Columbia chewed them up and spit them out. The sales of their album were so bad that just short of a few opening slots for Cheap Trick, they didn’t tour at all. They demoed 5 songs for Columbia, who apparently weren’t impressed and dropped them altogether. (+)
(The) Raincoats – Forgotten Worlds
The Raincoats hail from London, England and started in 1977 when Ana da Silva and Gina Birch were inspired to start a band after seeing The Sl*ts in concert. Da Silva and Birch were the main foundation of the band with many line up changes, and after three albums they broke up in 1984. But, thanks to a certain meddling nobody named Kurt Cobain, they reformed in 1994.
While in London in 1992, Cobain was looking for a new copy of the band’s debut when the shop owner sent him around the block to meet da Silva at a shop she worked at. By late 1993, Geffen (Nirvana’s label) reissued The Raincoats’ first three albums with liner notes by Cobain and Kim Gordon. The group was persuaded to reform in 1994 to celebrate the reissues, and before you know it, the group was invited to open for Nirvana on their 1994 European tour, but that didn’t happen for reasons you already know about.
By 1996, the group released their reunion album (and to date, final album), Looking In the Shadows. They are ostensibly post-punk, but not really what we think of as post-punk right in this moment. It’s kind of good, if not really exciting. But, I will say, it is really obvious why Cobain liked this band, the structure of this song sounds like something he would’ve covered on Incesticide II.
The band is still active, if only technically. They put out a split seven-inch in 2009, and they played All Tomorrow’s Parties in 2010 and 2012 curated by Matt Groening and Jeff Mangum, respectively. They’ve had a lot of turnover over the years, but their lineups have included Palmolive (The Sl*ts), Nick Turner (Lords of the New Church), Richard Dudanski (Public Image Ltd.), and Simon Fisher Turner (The The, The Gadget). (+)
The video has since been removed from Youtube 🙁
Wordsound I Powa featuring Likkle Jer – Bury Dem
This group apparently has no lasting footprint in our current digital world. Per the magazine, it is comprised of dub reggae artists Dr. Israel, Scarab, and Roots Control. The magazine also claims this is their ninth album, but there doesn’t seem to be any record of anything before or after this (Spotify does list a 1994 album, but Discogs is silent on the matter, and Google says the artist is simply “Wordsound”). Likkle Jer, who is presumably the vocalist, has 6 monthly listeners on Spotify, and one of the two songs he has is this one (with less than 1000 streams).
Musically, it’s kind of interesting, but the vocals are among the absolutely most annoying I have ever heard in my life… and I listen to terrible stuff on purpose. There’s a reason this has less than 700 views on Youtube. (-)
DJ Spooky – Nihilismus Dub
Paul Miller was born in Washington DC, but in the mid-90s, he formed the Soundlab artist collective in the East Village in NYC. Releasing his debut album, Songs of a Dead Dreamer, is one of the pioneering albums of the illbent (ill + ambient) genre, mixing hip hop samples and layers of dub and industrial soundscapes. This one is kind of like acid jazz, but… spooky.
Dj Spooky has gone on to work with many artists including Chuck D, Vernon Reid, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore, and Dave Lombardo, and many others. He is also a Professor of Music at the European Graduate School, and he was commissioned to “remix” D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation… which, I’ll just let him explain what that’s about. (+)
Now It’s Time For Breakdown:
Worthy Tracks: 9/19, 47.36% for this disc, 62.63% across the series.
Maple Leaf Invasion: Zero! 2.6% Canadian across the series.
YEEEEAAAHHH, Here Comes the Roster:
Me’Shell Ndogeocello, The Figgs, Dig, and Sincola are now part of the Two-Timer’s Club. They are in company with Cowboy Junkies, The Spinanes, Idaho, Cracker, Iggy Pop, The Coctails, Possum Dixon, Rocket From the Crypt, Pharcyde, Gene, Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets, Echobelly, Ben Harper, Hum, Bracket, Chris Whitley, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Quicksand, Digable Planets, Adam Ant, Catherine, Ass Ponys, Magnapop, Cranes, Sarah McLachlan, Eve’s Plum, Jeff Buckley, Beastie Boys, Engines of Aggression, Luscious Jackson, G. Love & Special Sauce, Green Apple Quick Step, Letters To Cleo, Big Audio Dynamite, Eve’s Plum, Greta, Paul Weller, Radiohead, Ramones Stabbing Westward, Sister Machine Gun, Superchunk, Lida Husik, Bad Brains, Cocteau Twins, and Blind Melon.
Magnapop becomes a three-peater joining Therapy?, Catherine Wheel, 700 Miles, Guided By Voices, and Matthew Sweet.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are the only group to appear four times.
Over the 35 installments, there have been 605 unique artists.